War and Peace
by Triskelesque
Summary: Remus and Adalyn have both been asked to come back to Hogwarts as Professors in Harry's third year. Remus reminds her of everything she lost in the 1st war, and Adalyn is everything Remus ever wanted. How will they deal with the events ahead of them? R/R!
1. Chapter 1

This story is dedicated to the awesome Remuslives23. Thank you for your help and constant nagging, without it this story wouldn't exhist. (read her stuff people, it changes lives!)

Chapter One: Lupine Instructors

She stood before the doors of Hogwarts, nervous and lost in a flurry of emotion she did not expect to rush forth. Her time as a student, at the notorious school of witchcraft and wizardry, were undoubtedly her fondest years to date; but with that fondness also came the pain of losing everything that the school had given her in those seven brief years.

So much of her life had been spent upon the grounds of Hogwarts, more than any child that had come through those ancient castles doors she was sure. That was still a fact that was disguised; no one knew of her earlier associations with the looming castle before her, and no one would, if she had anything to do about it.

Deciding that fear would get her nowhere, Adalyn MacArthur gripped the handle to her trunk firmly and pushed open the wooden doors before her, leaving the cool night behind her.

Even though it had been years since she had roamed the halls and corridors, the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff knew exactly where she was going.

And for the first time in over a decade, Ada felt the pang and fulfillment of being home.

As she walked and daydreamed about the times she had spent with her friends in the halls she was now walking, she became oblivious to the world around her. This caused a rare moment of clumsiness, when she very unexpectedly ran into another person while rounding her last corner on her way to the Headmasters office.

They crashed, sending both victims flying backwards. Ada tripped over her luggage, adding to the pain of her fall, whilst the other unfortunate soul landed with a very deep and rumbling thud on the stone floor.

"Merlin! Are you all right?" A pained male voice asked with concern.

Ada didn't even look to see who she barreled into before she replied rather testily, "Oh bloody perfect, I just love falling over."

"I am sorry, did you hurt yourself badly?" The man said reaching down with his hand, offering to help Ada to her feet.

"No, no. Excuse my mood, I just..." As she accepted the mans hand and looked up, her breath caught in her throat, cutting off her explanation.

"Oh, I uh..." she stuttered, her eyes still glued to the face before her.

"Hello Adalyn." Remus Lupin said calmly, a hint of wonder in his husky voice.

"Remus?"

He pulled her up, holding her arm as he helped her step over her fallen trunk.

"Do I look that different?" he asked with a laugh.

"No, it's just…well…what in Merlin's name are you doing here!" she waved her hand widely in front of them. The act of which clearly affronted the man in front of her.

"I could ask the same of you." he stated, letting go of her arm as they both backed away from one another, blatantly sizing one another up.

"I work here, you?" she said bluntly.

Before he had a chance to answer though, a jovial voice interjected their unlikely reunion. "Adalyn, you're here! How wonderful! Ah, I see you've encountered our new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor. I assume that you both remember one another from your years as prefects?"

Ada had never in her life been so happy to see her old headmaster.

"Professor Dumbledore, it's so lovely to see you again!" she exclaimed as she hugged the tall wizard.

"I was on my way to your office, before I encountered Mr. Lupin." Ada stated, sounding irritated by the chance meeting.

"Professor." Remus corrected with a matching tone.

The headmaster over looked their incivility and kept to his own agenda. "Well, why don't I have the house elves situate your baggage while we are conducting our meeting?"

"That sounds wonderful. As much as I hate to admit it, I am utterly exhausted from the trip." Ada replied.

"Well, let us get started then." Dumbledore stated with a nod to Remus, as he turned and walked down the hall.

Remus nodded back the acknowledgment. "Goodnight Albus, Adalyn."

"Professor." Ada spoke without looking back in his direction.

Remus merely picked up his book that he had dropped, and started walking in the direction of his office.

"Bloody woman." He muttered.

* * *

An hour later, Ada found herself wandering the halls again, sans luggage. She strolled with awareness this time, not wanting to have another embarrassing encounter. Her thoughts, thoughts that should be on her new position, were unavoidably on that of Remus Lupin. Upon entering the Headmasters office, she had littered him with questions about why he had decided to hire a former marauder, a man who had a connection with a known convict. A very well known, _escaped_ convict. She was silenced though with his assurances, as well as his predicable speech about why she shouldn't judge the new Professor by what an old friend had done.

'_Leave it to Albus to put me in my place' _she thought

It wasn't Lupin as a person that made her skin crawl, it was what he symbolized. Ada had ardently refused to have anything to do with things or people that reminded her of the past. Sadly, for Lupin, he was the epitome of everything she had been trying to avoid. He and a certain third year that she had previously thought would be her only problem.

She accepted the position, offered so graciously by Professor Dumbledore, in order to protect the boy in question. She had decided to put aside her pain to protect the boy that had almost avenged the deaths of his parents in infancy.

It was again, while lost in her thoughts, that she missed the appearance of one Remus Lupin to her right. She jumped as she heard his voice so near her.

"You really ought to pay more attention to your surrounding's Adalyn." Remus offered complacently.

"Lupin, have you added stalking to your long resume?" she chided.

"If it's at all possible, your tongue has become sharper with age." He said decidedly.

"May I ask why I am graced with your presence _Professor_?" she asked sarcastically.

"I want to try and clear the air between us, if you would be so kind." Remus said angrily.

Ada stopped and faced him, suppressing the feelings that overwhelmed her with the action. "What do you want me to say Remus?"

"Well, for starters you could let me in as to what I did to anger you." He looked at her straight on, unflinchingly.

"It's not as if we were ever friends Remus." Was all she could come up with in her defense, so she began to walk again.

"Be that as it may, we were still friendly toward one another." He retorted with ease as he followed.

She stopped again, his statement making Ada feel enormously guilty for her aggressive attitude. That along with her talk with Dumbledore convinced her she was being a right cow.

"Your right, I….well…it's just that it was a shock to see you again is all. I suppose I haven't been handling it very well." Even though she felt despicable for her behavior, she still spoke with a curt edge.

"Understandable. I was a bit of an ass myself." He laughed.

Ada smirked as they continued the awkward walk down the corridor, trying her best to loosen up enough to accept the painful company she was enduring. _'Its not as though _he_ did anything wrong'_ she reminded herself. Her thoughts began to wander again, but she was pulled back to reality by Remus' voice.

"Have you seen him yet?" he asked.

She stared ahead, her body visibly stiffening. "No, have you?"

"He has Lily's eyes, the rest is all James." He spoke softly.

Before Ada could help it, tears were falling down her cheeks. Hating the fact that she now felt exposed, she hurried in the direction of her new residence and classroom, leaving a bewildered Remus behind her.

Thanking the gods that Remus hadn't followed her, she slammed herself against her classroom door as it closed behind her. Her tears flowed faster now that she was alone, her grief making her sink to the ground as she let everything flood over her mind. She knew coming back to Hogwarts was going to test her strength and make her face things she refused to face, but she really wasn't prepared for the sudden rush of tears.

She hadn't realized how hard it was going to be.

* * *

The next morning for the new Professor was a lazy one. Having the day to ready her classroom and settle in, Adalyn made good use of her time as she set about cleaning and organizing the old room. The last Professor of Ancient Runes had been the same one from her schooling so many years ago, therefore leaving the room in an old-fashioned state that she didn't very much care for. Runes was impossibly boring for most students, a sad fact that she hoped to rectify with a light hearted classroom as well as her enthusiasm for the subject. It wasn't until around eleven o'clock that her first 'well wishers' came to visit and introduce themselves. Luckily many of the staff decided to come in together at the same time, almost creating the look of an impromptu party in the Runes classroom. The sight of which made Ada laugh.

Around an hour or so later, Ada was becoming weary of so much company all at once. So when the chatty group of scholars became suddenly quiet, Ada was almost thankful. Almost.

In her doorway stood Remus, with an unnerved looking Professor McGonagall beside him. They made their way inside, Remus casually trying to make a bee line for Ada.

She stuck out her hand idiotically, not knowing exactly how to act after her embarrassing departure upon their last visit. "Good afternoon, Professor Lupin." She said formally.

"Good afternoon Professor MacArthur." He said with just as much formality. "I was wondering, do you have a moment? I would like to speak to you about…"

Ada cut him off abruptly. "One moment Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall!" she nearly shouted with excitement, as she bounded toward the woman.

"Why, Adalyn! It is so good to see you back here again. Are you settling in all right?"

The two women hugged, as they tried to converse quietly. "Good enough I suppose, but I would love a little time to wrap everything up. Will these people ever leave?" Ada half joked.

"Oh, you just leave clearing the place out to me dear. Take all the time you need to situate yourself." Ada could sense the double meaning in her words.

"Alright!" Professor McGonagall clapped as she spoke. "Let us give the young Professor back her privacy and get on with our own work." She practically yelled, authority oozing from her hard voice.

Ada politely said good-bye to all her well wishers, then turning to an uncomfortable Remus.

"Well, what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked as she moved toward him.

"Albus told me this morning that I was to inform you about..." Again she cut him off.

"Being a werewolf?" she finished for him.

If she could have taken a picture of his face at that moment, she would have made millions.

"You knew." He choked out.

"Since third year Remus." She stated matter of factly.

"Why….how…you weren't frightened?" he spluttered out.

"I was at first I won't lie, but…" She stopped, choking on her words.

Remus sensed the shift in her demeanor, being as it was the same he witnessed last night when she bolted away in tears.

"Are you alright?" he questioned.

She nodded mutely while her mind fluttered with memories.

"Would you like a glass of water?" Remus offered, starting to worry.

She shook her head, but Remus was watching her pale skin whiten further. Deciding to just take action, he took her arm and sat her down in a nearby chair.

"Breathe, you need to breathe Adalyn." He motioned back and forth with his hands feeling like a complete moron trying to gesture how to breathe.

It took a few minutes for her to calm down, relieving her panicked colleague. "I'm sorry, it's just that….I hadn't thought of that particular memory for awhile and it made me rather despondent. Thank you for helping me calm down." She stood up then, indicating that their chat was over.

"Are you sure you're alright with working with someone like myself?" Remus asked insecurely, making Ada realize that he might have gotten the wrong impression by her behavior.

"Remus, I am absolutely fine with what you are. You didn't choose this, I know that." She stopped and took a deep breath. "The memory had to do with someone else. Someone I rarely like to think about."

"Lily." He stated matter of factly.

She closed her eyes at the sound of her name, feeling pain envelope her chest. "Please leave Remus."

"What?" he asked confused.

"Please leave." She stated with a cool voice.

Without a word he made his way toward the door, stopping in the doorway. He recognized her behavior, he was the unrecognized King of avoidance. "It helps to talk about them. It hurts like hell to start, but eventually you feel better for it." And with that he left, leaving Adalyn there to ponder his words. Words she knew to be true.

* * *

Authors Note: Alright all, I really happen to be very nervous about this...writing a Remus fic is very new to me.

Please let me know what you think, but be constructive if possible! I hope you all enjoy, it really does get better chapter to chapter...with much smut later on!

Please note that certain chapter will be rated M for graphic, um...well you know. I will make sure to alert you as to which chapters they are as we get to them. They wont be along for awhile yet anyway.

Trisky


	2. Chocolate Flirtations

Chapter Two: Chocolate Flirtations

"Good morning class, I'm Professor MacArthur and for those of you that may have already forgotten, this is Ancient Runes."

Ada stood in the front of the room, leaning casually on her desk.

"I have only two expectations in this classroom, the first being honesty. The second and most important is that you all will try. I understand that many of you may find this topic dry and boring, so I assure you that I will try and make this," she gestured widely with her hand. "as innovative an environment as possible."

She moved away from her desk then, wanting to engage the students in what she was saying. Little did she know that it was unnecessary, her personality and fortunate genetics sealed the attention span of all the students almost right away. The boys couldn't stop staring; while the girls….well it could be said that they were studying her for clues as to what they could do to get the boys to stare like that. Adalyn being who she was though barely noticed.

"Now, let's get started. Books away please….."

* * *

Her first day seemed to go by fast, leaving Ada exhausted by the time she sat down in the Great Hall for dinner. As she walked in she couldn't help but think _'Is Merlin against me?' _ when her eyes landed on the head table inhabited by faculty. The only seat available to her was the sad and unfortunate space between Remus and Severus Snape, an occurrence that she could no doubt thank her tardiness for.

From that day on she made a note to never be late for a meal again.

"Severus," she nodded. "Remus." She muttered as she sat between them.

"Good evening Professor MacArthur." Severus drawled out, making Adalyn internally cringe.

She situated herself in front of her plate, knowing without a doubt that this was going to continue to become awkward.

"How were our classes today Professor?" Remus prodded politely.

Ada turned his way and smiled a silent thank you. "Very good actually! I am very pleased with all my students so far. I think Hogwarts is full of potential for incredible Wizards and Witches at the moment."

Snape grunted beside her, clearly disagreeing. She ignored him and listened for Remus' reply.

"I couldn't agree more, after today's classes I decided to increase the curriculum for my third and sixth year students. They may hate me for it at first, but their defense education for the last few years has been laughable at best." Remus said, getting carried away by his own scholastic enthusiasm.

Ada laughed. "I heard."

"Thankfully they are all very capable in my opinion." Remus embellished.

"They had better be if your going to create a more challenging curriculum, there's no need to set them up for failure." Ada added a bit more playfully than she meant.

"Oh would you two please stop your flirtations," Snape's voice cut through the air like a knife. "because I would adore the ability to keep down my food." He spat sarcastically.

"Professor Snape, how wonderful for you to join our conversation." Remus replied happily. "Perhaps you would like to weigh in on our evaluations on this years students?"

Ada could have applauded him then and there in front of everyone in the Great Hall. She couldn't have pissed Snape off that much if she had tried.

Without preamble, Snape scuffed his chair back and briskly stood. He held his head high with entitlement as he snarled at both Ada and Remus. "These students are a disgrace to the wizarding world; nothing in their heads but fantasies and emotions."

Ada was appalled by his words. "Most _humans_" she emphasized. "tend to live a life with the unavoidably beautiful thing we call emotions. So please, spare me the effortless bile you spew out daily and continue your exit." She was breathing raggedly after her small outburst.

Snape sucked in his breath and did exactly as she bid him to do. She would always respect him for that; Severus Snape knew better than to push her too far.

Sadly though, Ada hadn't quite thought about what would happen when her festered old classmate took his leave.

Adalyn turned to a bemused looking Remus, who happened to be mid drink. He took his drink and set his goblet on the table. "That was an interesting way of ridding yourself of Snape." He stated.

Ada's stomach did an unexpected flip at the smirk she saw on the rugged looking werewolf. "Well, as always he did let his mouth run a bit too far."

"Hear, hear!" Remus agreed with another swallow of his butterbeer.

Ada turned away from him feeling as though she were lost in a wisp of smoke. It had been a few years since she had had any sort of respectable company outside of work, and if she were honest; the people she had worked with at the Department of Mysteries were very stoic, uninteresting creatures. That was partly why she had chosen the field, being an Unspeakable helped you live a quiet life; which was all Ada had strived for after the First War. It was fair to say that she didn't know quite how to act when she was around others yet. The outgoing and smart mouthed girl she used to be seemed to be lost.

Remus, being the perspective being that he was, picked up on the swift change in attitude in the women next to him. He was also a man that knew when to push people's boundaries; spending his adolescent as a marauder taught him that, even if he didn't pick up on till his adulthood.

"What have you been up to these last few years Adalyn?" Remus inquired, making Ada feel like he could read minds.

"I worked for the Department of Mysteries…..as an Unspeakable." She added.

"How was working for the Ministry?" Remus asked, never being able to have the opportunity to work there himself due to his infliction.

"Quiet, stuffy, impossibly beauratic." She said blandly.

"That fun was it?" he asked with a dryness matching her own.

"Oh, that and so much more." She laughed.

Remus decided that his new goal, other than providing education to his needful students, was to make that laugh happen as often as possible. She had a hard exterior, but then again so did he. He just went about hiding his fears and pains in a different way.

"Remus?" Ada's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yes?" he replied, keeping his eyes diverted from hers.

"I think I would like to take that you up on that offer for a talk. I have a few questions that I would like to ask you, but I fear this is an inappropriate place." Adalyn stated boldly.

Remus, flustered from her change in attitude about sharing, stared at her dumbfounded.

A reaction that clearly amused Ada.

"Of course Professor. How would tonight be?" Remus almost stuttered, unsure as to why he was inclined to do so.

"Great. Your office or mine?" she asked. It had only taken her second to realize how that must have sounded. Her face began to instantly redden.

Remus couldn't help but laugh loud enough to draw curious glances from other members of the staff. The possible innuendo in her question was bolder than he thought her capable of. So he replied like her, hoping to cause a similar reaction in her.

"Mine. What time?" he quipped.

Adalyn's mouth clearly showed her shock at his matching attitude. It was silent drop that quickly produced a laugh. "Were you always this sociable?" she laughed out.

"Yes actually." He said leaning back, evoking his inner marauder. "Is that surprising?" he asked, shocked by his blatant teasing. He was never this forward with a lady, not even in jest.

"You're an interesting type of man Professor Lupin. How's after Dinner?" she snapped back playfully.

"Alright, it's a meeting." He concluded to her.

The rest of the meal was spent in an awkward yet pleasant mood; a surprise to them both.

* * *

After the meal they went their separate directions, going to their chambers for a little deep breathing. Adalyn was more than befuddled at her behavior during that dinner. Not only had she mouthed off to Professor Snape (something she promised herself she wouldn't do) but she had also found her self enjoying the company of someone she had originally wanted to avoid at all costs.

It would be a lie to say that Remus' words from the day previous hadn't affected her. On many occasions her former guardian had told her the same thing, but there was empathy to Remus; a sharing that could happen that she didn't know she could appreciate. Adalyn wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about her old friends yet, it had been what……fourteen years since she had even tried?...but she did have other more serious, or rather Sirius questions to ask.

Adalyn wasn't stupid nor was she ignorant to the fact that the new Defense Professor had very close ties to the only wizard to escape Azkaban. She had been thinking about it since her arrival, but how does one ask another, 'Hey! Are you still in contact with the man that as good as killed the only person I considered family?' Not very tactful that.

She couldn't help but admit though that Remus had acquired something with age, something he defiantly didn't have when they were younger.

As it would happen, Adalyn wasn't the only one pacing her office with unexpected thoughts. Remus couldn't keep himself from smiling at the thought of her meeting him tonight, which compared to his thoughts from the night before, were strangely different. He didn't think that Ada would ever want to pursue a friendly acquaintance seeing as she still harbored some ill feeling from their shared past. He was still pacing about when he heard a light knock on his office door.

"Come in." he called out pleasantly.

Adalyn pushed the old oak door, moving her way into her co-workers personal space. She was pleased to see that he kept an office similar to hers; cluttered and littered with academic jargon.

"Good evening Professor, thank you so much for agreeing to speaking to me so late." Adalyn said formally. Her nerves getting the better of her.

"Ah yes, your very welcome Professor MacArthur." He mocked back.

The result was what he desired…..laughter.

"Point taken." Ada said as she went to take a seat on a very cozy looking chair.

"So, what can I do for you?" Remus asked, pushing down the sexual innuendo he found in his head.

"I don't know how to go about this Remus, so if I offend you please understand it's not personal." Ada started.

That was not the beginning Remus had been expecting.

"Alright."

Ada took a very deep breath, and pushed forward. "Now I have been told by Dumbledore that you can be trusted, and I won't be the one to challenge him seeing as he also seems to trust Severus. He must know things that he isn't willing to share with me but _I_ still have questions regarding your loyalties. For my own piece of mind, I need to know if you still have any association with Sirius."

Remus stood stock still.

"Do you know anything about his escape? Has he been in contact with you?" Ada pursued flashes of her interrogations from when she was in the Order going before her mind.

"Adalyn, I don't know anything about Sirius." He answered quietly.

This didn't seem to satisfy her. Her expression along with her prying questions made him lose his cool.

"I haven't seen Sirius since before James and Lily were murdered Addy! For Merlin's sake! Do you think that what he did to them, to _us,_ wasn't hard for me? No I haven't been in contact with the damn man, and part of my goal in this memory draped prison is to make sure he doesn't get to HARRY!" he shouted making Adalyn flinch.

"Remus you have to understand where I'm coming from..."

"No, actually Adalyn I don't. You have no idea what I went through, and you have no right questioning my loyalties."

The last part stung. Ada hated it when something stung your core because usually, it was true.

They both sat there in silence, the huffing of Remus unsteady breath being the only noise.

"I'm sorry to have offended you Remus," Adalyn said as she rose from her seat. "I just needed to speak with you about it before I jumped to conclusions. This is hard for me you know, talking to you before my presumptions." She continued. "I didn't know what to think when I saw you, so please forgive me for lumping you in with a man that you are so obviously against."

Adalyn turned for the door, but a hand on her wrist made her stop short of opening it.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper." Remus apologized, feeling genuinely awful for his behavior.

Ada barely noticed his words. A tremor went through her body at the contact, making her become dizzy with a physical need she had kept tucked away for longer than she wanted to admit.

"Remus, I think I should go." She almost pleaded. _'What's wrong with me?'_ she thought. _'I never plead.'_

"If you feel that's necessary." He countered.

"Why would I stay?" she asked, confused.

"I thought it was obvious…I have something you want." He state, letting go of her arm and moving to his desk.

"Really?" she said doubtfully.

"Yes. It's been along time, but I think you may need this."

She gulped as he strode back to her with a serious expression on his scarred and rugged face.

"Need what?" she could feel the heat beginning in the lower parts of her sequestered being.

"Chocolate." He said simply, a huge grin appearing on his features.

It was for the third time that night that Remus heard that laugh. The laugh that for some reason, was beginning to warm his heart.

Ada laughed into him, resting her head on his chest as she laughed harder than she had in years. They were both pleasantly surprised by the show of affection.

Neither one was aware of it at that moment, but old urges and feelings were rekindled that night. An event that was going to change their lives indefinitely.

* * *

Authors Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews so much! I'm sorry I took so long in updating, but my Batman story has me working overtime! Never fear though, our hot sexy Remus is never out of my mind!

I hope you liked this chappie, it was very interesting to write……I went in a different direction than I expected…..but it may lead to some sexiness sooner rather than later.

Cheerio,

Trisky


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